April 2016 GVI Phang Nga Monthly Achievement Report

To aid in the development of social and motor skills of orphans and underprivileged children through games and play.

To aid in the development of healthy lifestyle behaviours for children.

To provide a school holiday program which promotes health and wellbeing to the children of the orphanage, strengthening our partnership by providing time-off for the staff and offering fun, creative and active entertainment for the children.

School holidays in Thailand run for two months over March and April, at the height of summer. Some children at the orphanage go home if they have family who can support them, however many stay at the orphanage. It can be a hard time for the children, especially the ones who have nowhere to go. We decided to run a school holiday program which involved sports such as yoga, dancing and games. We also offered arts and crafts such as baking, decorating t -shirts and bags. Every Thursday, we would spend four hours at the orphanage, engaging with the entire community who worked, supported and lived there. GVI also brought healthy and nutritious snacks which the children wouldn’t normally eat.

Phang Nga volunteers at our hub dove right in and felt very dedicated to helping towards our cause. This was a special time as both Community and Conservation volunteers joined forces to create something we were all proud of. Volunteers brought their own skills from home to the program. Volunteer Tom, is a sports instructor at home. He would lead sports activities that the children weren’t used to playing such as Netball. The students really enjoyed this time with him, and he was a great asset to the program. Thank you Tom!

The school holiday program also allowed hardworking local staff to have some free time. The staff at the orphanage are truly amazing and work extremely hard with so much dedication, so it meant a lot to us to give them a little something, even if that was just an afternoon off. The program promoted a healthy lifestyle by engaging in weekly yoga classes and sport. We showed the students how to make healthy snacks, and that healthy food can be tasty and exciting, not just processed sweets and treats. As the program came to an end, everyone had bonded with the orphanage community; local staff and the children. Volunteers even had parcels sent from home which included books for the orphanage, as they felt really connected and passionate towards this project. Though this is an existing partnership, it definitely feels stronger, and we hope the school holiday program will occur again in the future.